On June 1st-2nd, 2024, at the Cathedral of Sts. Constantine and Helena in Edmonton, the celebration of the Feast Day and the blessing of the new church iconography took place.
On Saturday, June 1st, at 4:30 p.m., the Sacrament of Holy Unction took place, served by Bishop Ioan Casian, Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada, Rev. Parish priest George Bazgan, Fr. Archpriest Călin Mărincaș (Saskatoon), Fr. Ovidiu Moldovan (Calgary) and Fr. Gheorghe Ioan Petrovan from Edmonton. At 6:30 p.m., Great Vespers took place, served by the mentioned council, which was joined by His Eminence Nicolae, the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of the two Americas.
On Sunday morning, at the ringing of the bells, the two hierarchs of our Metropolia were greeted with traditional bread and salt. This was followed by the consecration of the iconography, executed with great skill by the iconographer Florin Vlad. This was the final chapter of the iconographic project started 23 years ago.
After the reading of the gospel on the Sunday of the Samaritan woman, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae said: "It is a great joy to be together today at this moment of fulfillment of a work of Father George and all of you to decorate this beautiful church. Today's Sunday is very important because Christ Himself reveals to the Samaritan woman, clearly and directly, that He is the Messiah that the people were waiting for. At the end of the Gospel story, we hear the words of the inhabitants of Shechem: we believe, not only because of your words, but also because we too have met Christ, the Savior of the world.”
Next, His Eminence Metropolitan developed two themes derived from the Savior's conversation with the Samaritan woman:
"Christ, suddenly raises the level of the discussion: "if you had known the gift of God and who it is that asks you for water, you would have asked, and he would have given you the living water." Here, this is the first theme of today's gospel: living water. What is this living water? It is the source of eternal life. The living water is the Holy Spirit, the outpouring of God's love.
The second theme of this long conversation is worship in spirit and in truth: "the time is coming when you will worship God in spirit and in truth. God is spirit and such worshipers he desires.” Worship in spirit and in truth refers to the fact that with the coming of Christ, we no longer have the old law and its prescriptions, but we worship in spirit and in truth; we have true communion with God. Worship in spirit and in truth refers to our chance as Christians to worship God the Father, recognizing the person of the Savior and the Holy Spirit, who descends in the Church. The Holy Spirit descended today on the painting of this church and descends through all the Mysteries of the Church. Let's look for the living water, let's look for Christ, let's ask for the sending of the Spirit!"
The Hierarchical Liturgy ended with the memorial service of the founders, worshipers and supporters of the church who fell asleep in the Lord.
The Reverend Father Ioan Casian then spoke, who spoke in detail about the life of St. Constantine the Great, one of the two patrons of our parish:
"There is a connection between the reading of the apostle this Sunday, in which we are told about the revelation of St. Paul the Apostle on the road to Damascus and that of St. Constantine the Great before the battle against Maxentius in the year 312. St. Constantine saw above the sun the sign of the Holy Cross shining in the sky, accompanied by these words: "in hoc signo vinces." This moment marks the beginning of his ascendancy, which will culminate in receiving Baptism before death. Some of the measures taken by St. Constantine the Great can be seen even today. By the Edict of Milan in 313, the Christian faith became legal. He is the one who convened the First Ecumenical Synod of Nicaea in 325, at which the Arian heresy was condemned, and the first part of the Creed (Creed) was drawn up. It was also then that the criteria for celebrating Easter were established. In the year 321, Sunday was declared the official day of rest. The mother of St. Constantine the Great, Empress Elena, is the one who discovered the Cross on which Christ the Redeemer was crucified and on September 14, 335, the church erected above the Holy Sepulcher was consecrated."
His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae presented the parish priest with a beautiful icon of the Holy Emperors Constantine and Elena, with a special dedication. Then, the Metropolitan presented the American Metropolitan Cross and the diploma for special merits to the iconographer Florin Vlad.
This was followed by the meal, specially prepared by the tireless women of our parish.
Glory to God for all the help!
Fr. George Bazgan
